An imposing and very permanent memorial

Dear Readers,

On Saturday, June 3, 2017 an unveiling ceremony was held at Reilly Cemetery. The monument that was many years of fund raising in the making is now in place and bears the names of those confirmed buried at Reilly Cemetery, those likely to be buried at Reilly Cemetery, and those for whom no place of burial can be ascertained. Here  I include a link to the video of the ceremony as recorded and posted by William Rielly, thank you Bill. I neglected to take my camera but Eileen Moore was kind enough to send along her photograph of the monument, thank you Eileen.

 

Photo courtesy of Eileen Moore, date taken 3 June 2017

A number of us met afterwards (all were and are always welcome of course) for a pot luck, caught up on the details of what everyone has been up to over the last year, and discussed where we want to go from here with Reilly Cemetery. While there will be more work some years than others (and right now everything looks pretty darned spiffy compared to how it looked the first time I saw the site) we agreed to continue having annual events. It is hoped that by staying in regular touch that the sense of commitment and community that this place has created will continue to grow.

My heartfelt thanks to all that have contributed to the success of the Reilly Cemetery Project. Our combined efforts at Reilly Cemetery have long since stopped being about my undergraduate project and have instead become a matter of family and community. Leaders have stepped forward and taken ownership of arranging for the monument, fund raising efforts, site maintenance and the email list. My short project is long since over but interest and caring for Reilly Cemetery continues, and in the end, that was all that I could have hoped for.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be accepted and integrated into a group that I now call family. See you next year!
Barb Rielly